Sustainable Development Quotes

Energy is essential for development, and sustainable energy is essential for sustainable development. ~ Tim Wirth

Climate change knows no borders. It will not stop before the Pacific islands and the whole of the international community here has to shoulder a responsibility to bring about a sustainable development. ~ Angela Merkel

Do we have to wait until a disaster overwhelms us before we make the radical changes necessary to protect our world for future generations? That is the vital challenge of sustainable development. If we act now there is much that can be saved which will otherwise disappear forever ~ John Gummer

It is not reasonable that art should win the place of honor over our great and powerful mother Nature. We have so overloaded the beauty and richness of her works by our inventions that we have quite smothered her. ~ Michel De Montaigne

The scarcest resource is not oil, metals, clean air, capital, labour, or technology. It is our willingness to listen to each other and learn from each other and to seek the truth rather than seek to be right ~ Donella Meadows

A world where one tenth of the population gets to be extremely wealthy, and six tenths very poor, is not, in the long run, a stable place ~ Bill McKibben

We do not have a freehold on the earth, only a full repairing lease ~ Margaret Thatcher

The world must learn to work together, or finally it will not work at all. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Respect for human rights requires transparent and accountable institutions and governance as well as the effective participation of all individuals and civil society, who are an essential part of realizing social and people-centred sustainable development. ~ Alfred-Maurice De Zayas

'Sustainable Development' is an oxymoron. 'Development' in all it's senses entails expansion and wanting more. Continual expansion and wanting more are unsustainable. Globally we are approaching the point when the only sustainable way forward is to want less. Indeed, the choice element may be removed from us and we will just have to have less. In the meantime we still have some choices about how to influence our future ~ Don Johnston

Changing eating habits in the North is an important link in the chain of events needed to create environmentally sustainable development that meets people's needs. The Beyond Beef campaign is an important step in that direction. ~ Walden Bello

There can be no real growth without healthy populations. No sustainable development without tackling disease and malnutrition. No international security without assisting crisis-ridden countries. And no hope for the spread of freedom, democracy and human dignity unless we treat health as a basic human right. ~ Gro Harlem Brundtland

I went to art school in Chicago for a year at Columbia College. I had this whole master plan of getting into sustainable development and green architecture and construction, so I wanted to go to business school and then get my masters in construction and development. ~ Nico Tortorella

Nevertheless, the concept of sustainable development is now known - even amongst those who haven't accepted it - and it's recognized, debated and followed by an increasing number of businesses. ~ Maurice Strong

During my nearly five years as director-general of WHO, high-level policymakers have increasingly recognized that health is central to sustainable development. ~ Gro Harlem Brundtland

On this International Literacy Day, let us recall that literacy for all is an integral part of education for all, and that both are critical for achieving truly sustainable development for all. ~ Kofi Annan

We do not accept that human society should be constructed on the basis of a savage principle of the survival of the fittest ~ Thabo Mbeki

Millions of people across the world live in a state of acute environmental crises caused by the lack of access to safe and usable water resources, because of natural disasters, socio-economic conditions, wars and conflicts. At Green the Gene, we are developing extremely simple yet highly technology and data intensive solutions tailored to address extremely specific problems faced by communities. ~ Madhav Datt

And as we [ the Church] move towards setting new (United Nations') sustainable development goals, we also understand that one of our key priorities is improving social inclusion. ~ Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo

To realize lasting peace and sustainable development in human society, members of the international community have to cooperate with one another fully and make concerted efforts. ~ Wu Bangguo

Culture defines who we are and how we see ourselves. A new attitude toward nature provides space for a new attitude toward culture and the role it plays in sustainable development ~ Wangari Maathai

Sustainable development is a fundamental break that's going to reshuffle the entire deck. There are companies today that are going to dominate in the future simply because they understand that. ~ Francois-Henri Pinault

People need open space. People need to bring their children into an area where they can play without restriction." And I was told, "This is development." And I said, "That is not development, definitely not sustainable development, definitely not responsible development. People need fresh air. They can do without buildings. They can do without concrete. But they cannot do without fresh air. ~ Wangari Maathai

The core values that underpin sustainable development - interdependence, empathy, equity, personal responsibility and intergenerational justice - are the only foundation upon which any viable vision of a better world can possibly be constructed ~ Jonathon Porritt

Only the World will save the World! -- The key is good education. ~ Rodolfo Peon

We need a new environmental consciousness on a global basis. To do this, we need to educate people. ~ Mikhail Gorbachev

Sustainable Development is more than meeting the needs of today and the future generations; to my understanding this definition better fits sex industry. ~ M.F. Moonzajer

When my parents were growing up the world's population was under three billion. During my children's lifetime, it is likely to exceed nine billion. You don't need to be an expert to realise that sustainable development is going to become the greatest challenge we face this century ~ Tony Blair

Once a photograph of the Earth, taken from outside, is available, once the sheer isolation of the Earth becomes known, a new idea as powerful as any in history will be let loose. ~ Fred Hoyle

In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace. ~ Wangari Maathai

As Americans, we have shown ourselves to have the greatest military on the face of the planet, but we are not so very good at anticipating threats and appreciating just how difficult it is to build up stable democracies, to make the investments and sustainable development that we must as a nation if we are to attack the root causes of these sorts of instability. ~ Martin O'Malley

Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. ~ Kofi Annan

I always run into these Ph.D.s. They write and write and write about sustainable development. Then these guys ask me, 'But, how do you do it?' They are scared to death to do anything. ~ Jaime Lerner

If Canada could simply apply the basic principles of sustainable development, such as the internalization of costs and 'polluters pay,' it would have long-term beneficial effects, both environmental and economic. ~ Andrew Nikiforuk

Capitalism is also incapable of promoting sustainable development, not because it encourages technological advances that are capable of straining the earth's resources but because the purpose of capitalist production is exchange value not use value, profit not people. ~ Ellen Meiksins Wood

Sustainability is a political choice, not a technical one. It's not a question of whether we can be sustainable, but whether we choose to be ~ Gary Lawrence

Sustainable development is not an option! It is the only path that allows all of humanity to share a decent life on this, one planet. Rio+20 gives our generation the opportunity to choose this path. ~ Sha Zukang

So-called 'sustainable development' ... is meaningless drivel. ~ James Lovelock

measures like GDP per person give only a rough reflection of the overall level of wellbeing of an individual or a nation. But for sustainable development we are interested in raising human wellbeing, not just in raising income, still less in a mad race for more riches for people who are already rich. Therefore, it is important to ask how we can best measure wellbeing (or life satisfaction) beyond GDP per capita. ~ Jeffrey D. Sachs

The outcome document known as "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" highlights poverty eradication as the overreaching goal of the new development agenda and has at its core the integration of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The emerging development agenda is unique in that it calls for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-income. The 'five Ps' people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership - capture the broad scope of the agenda. The SDGs are expected to be achieved by 2030. ~ New Media Wing

A violent society is an underdeveloped society. ~ Rodolfo Peon

Soil mapping is one of the pillars to the challenge of sustainable development ~ Jeffrey Sachs

The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces, or at least not try to defy them. ~ Paul Hawken

For the first time in human history, society has the capacity, the knowledge and the resources to eradicate poverty ~ Thabo Mbeki

Sustainable development is a process which enables all people to realise their potential and to improve their quality of life in ways which protect and enhance the Earth's life support systems ~ Sara Parkin

Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support system. We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own - indeed to embrace the whole of creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. Recognizing that sustainable development, democracy and peace are indivisible is an idea whose time has come ~ Wangari Maathai

There is no shortage of evidence that when we support the fundamental freedoms of women and girls, they are able to realize their full potential to engage in, contribute to and benefit from sustainable development. In doing so, we will all reap the benefits; in our homes, throughout our communities, and across our nations. ~ Sam Kutesa

The African Union has to act in order to put an end to armed conflicts that undermine the continent, to fight against the devastation caused by AIDS and other contagious diseases, to promote sustainable development of its member states. ~ Omar Bongo

All new schools ... should be models for sustainable development: showing every child in the classroom and the playground how smart building and energy use can help tackle global warming ... Sustainable development will not just be a subject in the classroom: it will be in its bricks and mortar and the way the school uses and even generates its own power. ~ Tony Blair

Sustainability is a set of conditions and trends in a given system that can continue indefinitely ~ Alan AtKisson

Preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are matters of grave concern for the entire human family. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Deficit consumption is, in effect, drawing down on the capital entitlements of future generations ~ Jonathon Porritt

What pleases me most is that sustainable development is on almost everybody's agenda now. ~ Maurice Strong

Sustainable development and climate change are two sides of the same coin ~ Ban Ki-moon

When I circumnavigated the globe the outcome didn't really matter, it was about a goal I'd set myself, but sustainability is part of all our lives ~ Ellen MacArthur

The fossil reserves that have already been discovered exceed what can ever be safely used. Yet companies spend half a trillion dollars each year searching for more fuel. They should redirect this money toward developing clean energy solutions ~ Desmond Tutu

Also, it is interesting that developing countries, with China and India perhaps in the lead, where the future of the global environment will be decided are now on board with the case for sustainable development. ~ Maurice Strong

Climate change is destroying our path to sustainability. Ours is a world of looming challenges and increasingly limited resources. Sustainable development offers the best chance to adjust our course. ~ Ban Ki-moon

Literacy is at the heart of sustainable development ~ Kofi Annan

Sustainable development: Holding our world in trust for our children ~ Michael Meacher

I also, as I think most people do, have a healthy instinct that if we upset the balance of nature, we are in all probability going to suffer a reaction. With world growth, and population as it is, this reaction must increase ~ Tony Blair

My dear friends, God's creation is one and it is good. The concerns for nonviolence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection on the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Global warming will not end by Earth finding a shade under the trees but under our hands joined together ~ Agona Apell

Acknowledging our love for the living world does something that a library full of papers on sustainable development and ecosystem services cannot: it engages the imagination as well as the intellect. It inspires belief; and this is essential to the lasting success of any movement. ~ George Monbiot

Humankind has the science and technology to destroy itself or to provide prosperity for all. But while science offers us these opportunities, science will not make that choice for us. Only the moral power of a world acting as a community can ~ Margaret Beckett

Western civilization is a loaded gun pointed at the head of this planet. ~ Terence McKenna

The future will be green, or not at all ~ Jonathon Porritt

We live on this very small and fragile planet: a world in which there is poverty and injustice is never going to be a safe and secure world ~ Hilary Benn

In order to create a sustainable world, we need to:
1) Educate people.
2) Educate people.
3) Educate people.
For every person left uneducated about the system of this sphere, the nature will make us all pay for it. Sustainability can only start in the mind. ~ A. Togay Koralturk

My next goal is for Shenzhen to become the model of environmentally-friendly and sustainable development. ~ Wang Shi

One buzzphrase that arose was 'sustainable development', which was used in two very different senses by opposing groups, because it left vague by what metric sustainability might be measured. Environmental groups meant by 'sustainability' a holistic approach by which life as we know it might be sustained. Scientists talked about 'sustainable cities' to mean cities that would not be destroyed by flooding in the wake of global warming. But to others, 'sustainable' meant a financial approach by which the oil industry as we know it might be sustained: sustainability was the minimum amount of environmental care that was affordable by those whose activities harmed the environment. ~ Steven Poole

What politician ever thinks beyond 4 or 5 years? But such thinking is hopelessly inadequate for the big questions that involve the fabric of the world we live in ~ Simon Barnes

You can make a lot of speeches, but the real thing is when you dig a hole, plant a tree, give it water, and make it survive. That's what makes the difference ~ Wangari Maathai

Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow. It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances. ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Sustainable development is a proven catalyst for Xerox innovation. ~ Anne M. Mulcahy

Living more sustainably means living happier, more balanced and potentially more fulfilled lives than most of us 'choose' to live today, whatever Jeremy Clarkson may have to say about that! ~ Jonathon Porritt

Ownership is a sine qua non of sustainable development. ~ James Wolfensohn

An NDP government will establish, in law, clear criteria for resource extraction and transportation based on the principles of sustainable development, which include internalizing all pollution costs and putting a price on carbon. In our day and age there is no longer any way around it. Any new energy project requires a thorough, credible environmental assessment process, based on criteria of sustainable development and social acceptability. We don't have one in Canada, because the Conservatives have gutted all the relevant existing legislation and reduced the staff responsible for enforcing it. ~ Tom Mulcair

We all have an interest, and a duty to future generations, to ensure that the benefits of mobility that we now take for granted, do not place an intolerable burden on our environment ~ Elliot Morley

We have entered a new era. Global society is interconnected as never before. [...] I suggest that we have arrived in the Age of Sustainable Development. ~ Jeffrey D. Sachs

Both rich and poor nations have a common stake in policies that put the globe on a sustainable development path. The conflict is less between poor and rich countries than between the broad interests of people and the narrow interests of extractive industries. We need to find our way towards some kind of global regime that reduces emissions of the greenhouse gases, but well-off nations need to transfer the technology to make this possible, rather than viewing this shift as one more opportunity for private industry to profit. ~ Robert Kuttner

We live not, in reality, on the summit of a solid earth but at the bottom of an ocean of air ~ Thales

It is only individual great forces, which must be pulled together, in our common vision of combating the climate change. ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present. ~ Adlai E. Stevenson II

There can be no sustainable development without sustainable energy development ~ Margot Wallstrom

If we're really to give ourselves the best of ourselves, we have to be honest with the worst of ourselves. ~ Craig D. Lounsbrough

Three rules of hospitality industry.
1. Always smile no matter what.
2. Never discuss religion and politics
3. You may wear a torn underwear inside but always wear the three piece suit outside. ~ Himmilicious

The development occurs through reciprocal give-and-take, the teacher taking but not being afraid also to give. ~ John Dewey

Stop making excuses of why you can't or how hard it is and start making your life matter. ~ John Patrick Hickey

The development of the "We Believe" philosophy must be real and not cosmetic. Everyone must buy in and understand that it is not a motivational tool, but rather something very personal that should be lived and that all must believe in order for true success to be achieved. ~ George M. Gilbert

What America needs is to hold to its ancient and well-charted course. Our country was conceived in the theory of local self-government. It has been dedicated by long practice to that wise and beneficent policy. It is the foundation principle of our system of liberty. It makes the largest promise to the freedom and development of the individual. Its preservation is worth all the effort and all the sacrifice that it may cost. ~ Calvin Coolidge

You simply can't fit a gallon of desires into a quart container. And yet we continually try to do just that. What we need is a different approach. A bigger bottle would also help. ~ Joseph Deitch

when you are a child you unconsciously adopt certain beliefs. Yet, there comes
the necessity to upgrade these beliefs as you grow older. ~ Derric Yuh Ndim

But that would be putting the clock back," gasped the Governor. "Have you no idea of progress, of development?"
"I have seen them both in an egg," said Caspian. "We call it Going bad in Narnia. ~ C.S. Lewis

The development of Space was followed by mutant viruses and a global pandemic. ~ Steven Magee

Extending social and economic development throughout the world and eliminating nuclear weapons from military arsenals are two fundamental prerequisites to replacing the culture of war with a culture of peace, and building true security for all the world's people. ~ Douglas Roche

Seeking higher ground is not a destination, but an elevation. Wings up, eyes shut open. ~ T.F. Hodge

Support is not always easy to come by if you wait for the world to see your worth. Discover your own worth and the world will indeed follow your lead. Its the law of cause and effect! It has to happen. Support yourself. ~ Sereda Aleta Dailey

Private sector development and the creation of small businesses spur investment, jobs, opportunity, and hope. It empowers the market to meet local needs, whether for food, basic goods, or services. ~ Robert Zoellick

You can't inspire and lead people without earning their attention. You achieve that in a counter-intuitive way – by paying close attention to what interests them. ~ Phil Dourado